1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to archery bows, and, more particularly, to archery bows with at least one cam arrangement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of archery bows have been developed, including traditional bows (i.e., long bows and recurved bows) and compound bows. All archery bows include a pair of opposed limbs extending from a riser or handle of the bow. As an archer draws the bow by pulling on a string, the limbs flex and store energy. This energy is transferred to the arrow as the archer releases the string.
A compound bow is a popular design for archery bows and includes one or more cams (for example, eccentric wheels or pulleys). Compound bows use a cable or string system which extends over at least one cam rotatably mounted at a distal end of a bow limb to provide a mechanical advantage during the drawback of the string. Such cams enable a peak draw force (i.e., a peak pull force on a drawstring of a bow to maintain a draw) to be reached in the middle of a draw such that the draw force drops at full draw.
With this arrangement, when the drawstring is in the full draw position, maximum potential energy is stored in the bow while the force required to maintain the drawstring in the full draw position is less than the maximum draw force of the bow. In short, as the drawstring is being drawn, the draw force applied to the bow increases to a maximum force and reduces to a lower draw force at the full draw position. Accordingly, maximum energy is stored in the limbs without requiring maximum force to be applied to the drawstring to hold the bow at the full draw position. This permits the archer to maintain aim on his target prior to release for a longer period of time for a better shot.
Examples of different types of compound bow arrangements include the so called “hatchet” bow having dual cams, the so called “solo cam” bow having a cam at one end and an idler pulley at the other end, and the so called “cam and a half” bow such as manufactured by Hoyt U.S.A™.
Regardless of the particular type of compound bow arrangement used, a common understanding is that the bow must be balanced or “tuned” to achieve satisfactory performance. This generally means that the length of the limbs extending from the riser must be the same, the draw rating of each limb must be the same, and certain other dimensions must be achieved. It is generally believed that if a bow is not tuned in this manner, satisfactory performance will not be achieved.